North Marion extends lead over Belleview

BELLEVIEW — North Marion scored 40 unanswered points to take a 40-7 lead over Belleview after three quarters of varsity high school football action Friday night.

Three Mike Brinkley touchdown passes, and runs by Albert Gary, Ryan Williams and Eddie Rocker were the story of the first three quarters.

Belleview opened the scoring with a 9-yard run by wingback Quentin Samuel with 7:41 left in the first quarter. Mike Sisto's point-after was good to give the Rattlers a 7-0 lead.

North Marion answered with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Brinkley to Darius Morgan to even the score at 7 with 5:00 to play in the first. North Marion's PAT was kicked by Scott Shockley.

North Marion then scored on a 6-yard run by Gary with 7:54 left in the second quarter. The touchdown was set up by an acrobatic catch by the Colts' Tim Dandy, who pulled down an 18-yard pass from Brinkley and tip-toed his way along the sideline before falling out of bounds at the Belleview 1-yard line. A penalty against North Marion pushed the ball back to the 6, setting the stage for Gary's run.

Williams' touchdown run with 2:19 left in the first half was a straight-ahead burst showcasing the junior's ability to break tackles. The 235-pound fullback took the handoff and blasted his way through a couple Belleview defenders for the 28-yard score.

Brinkley then connected with Demontrelle Smith on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds left to push the lead to 28-7.

Morgan caught his second TD pass, an 8-yarder from Brinkley with 10:41 left in the third.

Rocker, replacing Gary as the starter at tailback, ran 8 yards to push the score to 40-7 with 5:13 left in the third.